"The Eight Strokes of the Clock" is a collection of eight short stories by Maurice Leblanc. This thematically-related series of short stories originally appeared in Excelsior Magazine in 1922-23. The eight tales follow the adventures of “Prince Serge Renine” (exactly what kingdom he’s supposed to be a prince of is never explained—it could well be that “Prince” is just his given name. I guess that would make him “the Prince formerly known as Lupin”) and his assistant, Hortense Daniels, as they unravel eight perplexing mysteries—or, rather, as “Renine” unravels them and Hortense tags along. The eight stories, even though independent, have a leading thread: Serge Renine, trying to conquer the heart of the young Hortense. Chronologically, the stories are set in 1911, between Lupin’s retirement from crime at the end of "The Hollow Needle" and his greatest adventure of all, "813".